Common resource allocation in a wireless system or the like

ABSTRACT

Network resources such as in a wireless system may be allocated to user devices on the network based upon at least one or more minimum user requirements being satisfied. A user may be determined as satisfied when minimum requirements of rate and delay are reached or maintained. The network may optimize throughput on the network by allowing a maximum number of users on the network to be satisfied. Users may be ranked according to signal quality, and network resources may be allocated to users according to rank to satisfy users until the resources of the network are allocated.

BACKGROUND

[0001] In a system with limited resources and spectrum such as awireless cellular network, the system determines how to allocateresources to users. In typical voice networks such as 2G systems, usersare served on a first come first served basis, as long as the user is inan area that has a minimum signal quality. Future networks are intendedto provide more data services over cellular networks, such as 3Gsystems, so a different criterion other than a minimum signal quality istypically employed. Since data is more tolerable to delays than voice,typical data networks attempt to serve a user when a higher channelquality is present so as to minimize usage of common wireless resourcessuch as spectrum in order to achieve a maximum throughput of the basestation. However, systems that allocate resources on the basis ofchannel quality alone do not accommodate the issue of what rate eachuser desires.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGS.

[0002] The invention may be understood by reference to the followingdescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in whichlike reference numerals identify like elements, and in which:

[0003]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communication system in accordancewith the present invention.

[0004]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a base station in accordance with thepresent invention.

[0005]FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a method for allocating resources inaccordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0006] Referring now to FIG. 1, a block diagram of a communicationssystem in accordance with an embodiment of present invention will bediscussed. In one embodiment, communications system 100 may include abase station 110 that communicates with one or more devices 112-114,over one or more communication links 116-118. In one embodiment, atleast one or more of communications links 116-118 may be a wirelesslink, such as a radio-frequency communications link in a cellulartelephone network, although the scope of the present invention is notlimited in this respect. Devices 112-114 may be wireless phones,personal digital assistants, computers, pagers, portable music players,or any other device capable of communicating with base station 110 viaat least one or more communication links 116-118, although the scope ofthe present invention is not limited in this respect.

[0007] In one embodiment, at least one or more of devices 112-114 may betransportable by a user, such as a hand held device, and may be operatedby a user while being hand held or otherwise on the person of the user,such as in a pocket, attached to a belt or holster, and so on. Basestation 110 may allow devices 112-114 to communicate with other devices112-114, and may allow devices 112-114 to communicate via network 120.In one embodiment, network 120 may be a wide area network or world widenetwork such as the Internet, although the scope of the presentinvention is not limited in this respect.

[0008] In one embodiment, at least one or more of devices 112-114 may bebattery operated where the battery serves as a power source duringoperation, and may alternatively be powered from an external powersource such as an ac or dc power source, directly, to charge thebattery, or to provide supplemental power to the device, although thescope of the present invention is not limited in this respect. In oneembodiment of the invention, communications system 100 may comprise awireless or a cellular network compliant with at least one or morecellular standards, including but not limited to 3GPP, WCDMA, CDMA 2000,GSM-GPRS, GSM-EGPRS, IEEE Standards 802.11a, 802.11b, and so on,although the scope of the present invention is not limited in thisrespect. Other wireless standards may be utilized without departing fromthe scope of the invention and without providing substantial changethereto.

[0009] Referring now to FIG. 2, a block diagram of a base station inaccordance with the present invention will be discussed. Base station110 may include the components as shown in FIG. 2, and alternativelybase station 110 may also include more or fewer components withoutaltering the scope of the invention. Base station 110 may include acontrol unit 210 to control the operation of base station 110. Controlunit 210 may include a microprocessor or a controller, although thescope of the present invention is not limited in this respect. Atransceiver 212 and optionally included one or more antennas 214 couplewith control unit 210 so that base station 110 may communicate withdevices 112-114 via a wireless communication link 116-118.

[0010] In one embodiment of the invention, although not necessarily all,a storage device 216 may couple to control unit 210 to store anapplication 218, and also data or other information. Storage device 216may include a memory device such as semiconductor memory, for examplerandom access memory (RAM), flash memory, a disk drive, or the like,although the scope of the invention is not limited in this respect.Application 218 may adapt control unit 210 so that that base station 110may operate to allocate resources to devices 112-114 by implementing amethod for allocating resources in accordance with the presentinvention, although the scope of the present invention is not limited inthis respect. At least one embodiment of a method for allocatingresources to one or more of devices 112-114 is discussed with respect toFIG. 3.

[0011] In one embodiment of the invention, delay may refer to the amountof time a packet waits for transmission at the base station, althoughthe scope of the invention is not limited in this respect. In someembodiments of the invention, the delay variation may be a factor ratherthan the absolute delay. For example, in a voice call the delay may be afactor but in video streaming, e.g., playing an MPEG movie, the initialdelay may not be a factor since some amount of data may be bufferedprior to playing the movie, for example where the variation does notexceed the buffer size. Rate may refer to the amount of data sent by thetransmitter to a user over a certain time interval, typically a fewseconds, although the scope of the invention is not limited in thisrespect.

[0012] In one embodiment, base station 110 may obtain data to transmitto the different users, for example from the network or from otherdevices. The obtained data may be held in queues waiting to betransmitted to the devices. The average data rate may be constant, forexample as in video streaming or video call in which the raterequirements are constant and the application may not work properly ifit is not maintained, or it may be a best effort as in web browsing oremail downloading in which case the rate requirements may reflect aminimal requirement to keep a normal user happy, although the scope ofthe present invention is not limited in this respect.

[0013] Referring now to FIG. 3, a method for allocating resources inaccordance with the present invention will be discussed. Method 300 maybe implemented by application 218 executed by control unit 210 of basestation 110. Method 300 starts at block 310 at which users of devices112-114 are indicated as not satisfied. In at least one embodiment ofthe invention, a user of one of devices 112-114 may be consideredsatisfied when at least one desired value of rate or delay are reachedor maintained for the user, although the scope of the present inventionis not limited in this respect.

[0014] In one embodiment of the invention, for example, device 112 maybe an audio based device utilizing a voice messaging application. Insuch an example, an acceptable data rate may be defined in the range of4-13 kb/s with a one-way delay time smaller than 1 second. As anexample, delay variation may be a factor and may be on the order of 1millisecond. In this embodiment, the user of device 112 may be definedas being satisfied when base station 110 is capable of providing device112 with a transmission rate of at least 4 kb/s and a delay time lessthan or equal to 1 second of delay variation. As another example, device112 may be capable of utilizing a video application. In such an example,an acceptable data rate may be defined as 384 kb/s (one of many examplevalues) with a startup delay time smaller than 10 seconds. Delayvariation may be a factor and may be less than 2 seconds. In thisembodiment, the user of device 112 may be defined as being satisfiedwhen base station 110 is capable of providing device 112 with atransmission rate of at least 384 kb/s and a startup delay time lessthan or equal to 10 seconds of delay variation. Devices 112-114 may havea combination of rate and delay desired values in order to be consideredas satisfied, and a combination of one of devices 112-114 need not besimilar or identical, although the scope of the invention is not limitedin this respect.

[0015] In one embodiment of the invention, feedback may be gathered fromusers based on the signal quality at their slot, at block 312. In ashared environment, communication may be typically done in time periodsof constant duration which may be referred to as slots. In the slots,transmission may be scheduled to 0 or more users. A scheduler may decideat which slots transmission occurs to the user, and then which resourcesare allocated to a user in a particular slot, for example how muchpower, how many codes, what portion of the frequency, and so on,according to the resources that may be shared. The scheduler also maydetermine how to deliver the data to the user, for example whatmodulation to use, what coding scheme to user, and so on, depending uponthe physical layer capabilities. Signal quality may refer a measure ofthe quality of the link between the base station and the device, and maybe, for example, the instantaneous Signal to Interference and NoiseRation (SINR) at the device, or the achievable instantaneous rate at thedevice, although the scope of the present invention is not limited inthis respect.

[0016] Users may be ranked, at block 314, based on signal qualitydetermined at step 314, and a variable i is set at a value of 1. In oneembodiment, users having a higher signal quality may be ranked higherthan users having a lower signal quality, although the scope of theinvention is not limited in this respect. A determination is made, atblock 316, whether user i is satisfied. If user i is satisfied, thevariable i may be increased by a value of 1, at block 318, and method300 continues, at block 316, with the next ranked user. In the eventuser i is not satisfied, resources are allocated to user i at step 320until a determination is made at step 322 that the requirements of theuser i are met, at which time user i is marked as satisfied. Adetermination may be made at step 324 whether all resources have beenallocated. In the event all resources have not been allocated, variablei may be incremented by a value of 1 at step 318, and method 300 maycontinue to execute at step 316 with the next user. In the event thatall resources are allocated, the satisfaction level of all users may beupdated at step 326, and method 300 may continue at step 312 at the nexttime slot, although the scope of the present invention is not limited inthis respect. Time may be advanced to the next time slot at step 328.

[0017] In one embodiment of the present invention, such as illustratedin FIG. 3, base station 110 may maintain a maximum number of live callsor communications links according to at least one or more preferences ofat least one or more users. As a result, base station 110 may provide acapacity for a number of supported users. Thus, in one embodiment of theinvention, base station 110 may utilize a throughput criterion under aconstraint of a number of satisfied users although the scope of thepresent invention is not limited in this respect. In at least oneembodiment of the invention, a user may be considered satisfied when atleast one or more desired values of rate and delay are maintained forthe user, although the scope of the present invention is not limited inthis respect.

[0018] In one or more alternative embodiments of the invention, method300 may be modified to provide other optional bases for allocatingresources. For example, block 314 may be modified in one embodiment torank users according to delay, or some variation of delay, for exampleusers having a tighter delay constraint may be ranked higher than usershaving a less tight delay constraint. A user may be determined to besatisfied at block 316 in the event quality exceeds a predeterminedthreshold, although the scope of the present invention is not limited inthis respect. In another embodiment, block 314 may be modified to rankusers according to the delay and the quality. In yet another embodiment,block 314 may be modified to rank users according to a percentage ofresources required to keep the user satisfied for the next N time slots,N being a parameter, although the scope of the present invention is notlimited in this respect. In a further alternative embodiment, a velocityestimator per user may be provided by making a ranking of delay orquality and delay. In particular, a lower speed user may be givenpriority over a higher speed user in terms of channel quality, but noton delay. In such an embodiment, a higher speed user may have greaterfluctuation in quality, and thus may not stay in a lower qualitycondition for long time periods, whereas a lower speed user may sufferfrom longer periods of lower quality, although the scope of the presentinvention is not limited in this respect.

[0019] Although the invention has been described with a certain degreeof particularity, it should be recognized that elements thereof may bealtered by persons skilled in the art without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention. It is believed that the common resourceallocation in a wireless system of the present invention and many of itsattendant advantages will be understood by the forgoing description, andit will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form,construction and arrangement of the components thereof without departingfrom the scope and spirit of the invention or without sacrificing all ofits material advantages, the form herein before described being merelyan explanatory embodiment thereof, and further without providingsubstantial change thereto. It is the intention of the claims toencompass and include such changes.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: determining whether a userpreference on a network is satisfied for a communication rate and delaytime on the network; and allocating network resources to the user basedon said determining.
 2. A method as claimed in claim 1, said allocatingincluding allocating resources on the network among one or more users sountil a predetermined number of users is satisfied for a respectivecommunication rate and delay time of the users.
 3. A method as claimedin claim 1, wherein determining and allocating continues until the allresources of the network are allocated.
 4. A method as claimed in claim1, further comprising ranking users on the network according to a signalquality of the user, and executing said determining and said allocatingfor the users according to user rankings provided by said ranking step.5. A method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising ranking users onthe network according to one or more parameters selected from the groupconsisting essentially of delay, quality, a percentage of resourcesrequired to keep a user satisfied for a predetermined number of timeslots, and velocity.
 6. A method as claimed in claim 1, furthercomprising iteratively executing said determining and said allocatinguntil all network resources are allocated.
 7. A method, comprising:determining a signal quality for users of a network; ranking users basedon the signal quality; determining whether a user is satisfied, and inthe event a user is satisfied, determining whether a next ranked user issatisfied; and in the event a user is not satisfied, allocating networkresources to the user until the user is satisfied.
 8. A method asclaimed in claim 7, wherein a user is determined to be satisfied when atleast one of a rate and a delay requirement for the user is provided bythe network.
 9. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein a user isdetermined to be satisfied when a minimum rate and delay requirement areprovided by the network,
 10. A method as claimed in claim 7, furthercomprising allocating network resources until all network resources havebeen allocated.
 11. A method as claimed in claim 7, further comprisingallocating network resources until all network resources have beenallocated, and then continuing to determine a signal quality for usersof the network.
 12. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein saiddetermining includes determining the signal quality for users of awireless network.
 13. An article, comprising: a storage medium, saidstorage medium having stored thereon, said instructions when executedresulting in: a signal quality being determined for users of a network;users being ranked based on the signal quality; a determination beingmade whether a user is satisfied, and in the event a user is satisfied,a determination being made whether a next ranked user is satisfied; andin the event it is determined that a user in not satisfied, networkresources being allocated to a user until the user is satisfied.
 14. Anarticle as claimed in claim 13, wherein the instructions further resultin a user being determined as satisfied when at least one of a rate anda delay requirement for the user is provided by the network.
 15. Anarticle as claimed in claim 13, wherein the instructions further resultin a user being determined as satisfied when a minimum rate and delayrequirement are provided by the network,
 16. An article as claimed inclaim 13, wherein the instructions further result in allocation ofnetwork resources until all network resources have been allocated. 17.An article as claimed in claim 13, wherein the instructions furtherresult in a continual execution of said instructions resulting in asignal quality being determined for users of the network when allnetwork resources have been allocated.
 18. An apparatus, comprising: abase station to couple one or more devices to a network; said basestation to allocate resources to users of the one or more devices basedon whether a user is satisfied.
 19. An apparatus as claimed in claim 18,a user being satisfied when at least one of a rate and a delayrequirement for the user is provided by the network.
 20. An apparatus asclaimed in claim 18, a user being determined as satisfied when a minimumrate and delay requirement are provided by the network.
 21. An apparatusas claimed in claim 18, said base station to allocate resources to usersof one or more devices based on one or more parameters selected from thegroup consisting essentially of delay, quality, a percentage ofresources required to keep a user satisfied for a predetermined numberof time slots, and velocity.
 22. An apparatus as claimed in claim 18,said base station to allocate resources to users of one or more devicesbased on whether a user is satisfied until all network resources areallocated.
 23. An apparatus comprising: a handset of a user to couple toa base station on a network; and the user handset to receive networkresources from the base station until the user is satisfied.
 24. Anapparatus as claimed in claim 23, the user being satisfied when at leastone of a rate and a delay requirement for the user is provided by thenetwork.
 25. An apparatus as claimed in claim 23, the user beingsatisfied when minimum rate and delay requirements are provided by thenetwork.
 26. An apparatus as claimed in claim 23, the user handset to beallocated resources from the base station base on one or more parametersselected from the group consisting essentially of delay, quality, apercentage of resources required to keep the user satisfied for apredetermined number of time slots, and velocity.
 27. An apparatus asclaimed in claim 23, the user handset to be allocated resources from thebase station based on whether the user is satisfied until all networkresources are allocated.